Since the beginning of my experience in China I have sought to answers to cultural questions that defined the China in the changing 21st century. During this period of time I have also examined social, political, and moral questions which I feel are important. In the process I have often taken a hard look at the United States and criticized policies thoroughly when I felt it necessary to make a point. The mere fact that I come from a country which allows such freedoms really defines me as a person and I am thankful each day that I have the liberties to voice my concerns when I feel it appropriate to do so. In this quest for knowledge I have also tried my best to think about the question of what defines all citizens of the United States. I realized that it was not going to be as easy as analyzing China due to their extremely homogenous background (Han Chinese 92.5 % of population).
It has taken me a long time to finally realize the one aspect that aligns all people in the United States together. This trait is not something as analogous as skin color, common ancestry, or even political beliefs. The knot that ties together all Americans is the idea of freedom. It comes from the liberty to argue ideas in politics, with friends, and colleagues. It is the right to express your personality in ways others might find strange. It comes from the belief that the United States offers you asylum if your country is war torn and you need a place to raise a family and so on. It has taken me a long time to try and come up with the exact idea that unites all citizens of the United States together; whereas, a country such as China has much more tangible similarities such as common ancestry and skin color which create much more ostensibly stronger bounds of union. In the midst of my struggle towards discovering what idea truly defines an American identity I felt myself feeling a little bit frustrated for the fact that I could not present a more positivist answer together. Since being in China, I have found that the Chinese are incredibly positivist in their thinking. Here are a couple of examples I have discovered; a foreigner can only be a person of different skin color, how much money you make shows your value in life, and the image you portray is a direct reflection of the power you posses as a person.
I believe that what unites United States citizens together is stronger than a simple bound of ancestry. It is also greater than the mere appearance of a person’s skin. The reality is that at times this idea can be extremely divisive in nature causing people in the United States to argue amongst one another. The beauty of the idea of freedom is that it is quite strictly up to the eye of the beholder to decide what it exactly means. Fortunately, the United States system of government allows for such discourse, discussion, and even banter to occur freely (within reason). Even the founding fathers of the United States knew that people would have differing ideas about what it meant to be an American citizen and that is why they created a Bill of Rights, three branches of government, and a constitution which allowed for guidelines and the ability of ratification in times of need.
I can say that after living in a country which does not have these similar democratic principles over a year now that I am extremely proud of being an American. Being born into freedom is one thing which I think many people take for granted living in the United States. Once you come to know what the opposite side of the coin looks like you start to realize how truly special the United States is. I know that our difference in opinions sometimes can work to build a dangerous divide amongst the differing social, political, age, and gender groups. Sometimes the solutions to problems in the United States have not been best i.e.: (Compromise of 1820 / 1850, Chinese Exclusion Act of 1887, Japanese Interment, Red Scare, Patriot Act, etc).
Nonetheless, over a period of time people in the United States have pushed for more rights including, Civil Rights legislation, equal pay for women, Social Security, Medicare, etc. Not all of these solutions have properly solved the problems at hand; however, the mere fact that people in the United States have pushed for equality legislation tells me that there are those looking to improve problems at hand. In summary, I feel that to be an American citizen is to believe in progress and pushing for better solutions to solving problems within the United States and being a leader abroad which is respected. That may get me into some interesting discussions with friends and colleagues; however, I feel that as of now what the United States really needs are some great ambassadors out in the world improving our global image. I am really proud of the fact that I can live in a country where I can live out this dream by doing exactly what I am doing here in China today. Most people in the world could not hope to teach in a foreign country due to a multitude of reasons. I am fortunate and love my country for all of these gifts it has given me.
My life lately has been one of great frustrations and even sweater victories. I am at the point now that I really need a change in scenery. I have for the most part loved my experience in China; a part from my experiences with their hospital system and omnipresent pollution. The real problem is that I am now at the point where I cannot even go to a small village away from town without someone already knowing my name, being asked to take a photo, or followed walking in the park. At first, I thought that it was just me being unreasonable and I should welcome their curiosity; however, after over a year of this behavior I have come to realize that everything I do in this small town magnified tenfold because I am a tall white foreigner. The mere fact that my supervisor asked me why I spend a lot of time going on walks with a girl in town is simply one of the many ways in which this invasion of privacy has invaded my life.
On the other hand, I have made an incredible jump in my Chinese level which has allowed me to freely go on walks and talk to people in town even if they are only using their local dialect. I have pushed myself extremely hard to learn Chinese for the past two and a half months and it has finally paid off. Some of the methods which I have employed include: using note cards, listening tapes which have both Chinese and English, asking students questions, listening in restaurants to people speaking Chinese, speaking with friends in Chinese, watching Chinese movies with English subtitles, etc. At first, my speaking goals were extremely simple. I only wanted to be able to order food in a restaurant, use a taxi, get a bus ticket, etc. Now I have gone to wanting to understand everything that is being asked of me (this becomes extremely difficult because most people will ask me questions in their local dialect) and pushing myself to be able to respond back in a positive manner.
The incredible feeling I get from being able to communicate in Chinese still helps me to sally forth through the other inconveniences of living in a foreign country. My desire to continue to learn the language to help me find a better job in business, education, our in the government all resonate with me still. That is why I will seek teaching and studying Chinese one more year in a different city. At Beibei’s University of 50,000 plus undergraduates, in a large metropolitan area, with over at thousand foreigners I know I will fit more into the environment and not stick out like a sore thumb anymore. I can also take Chinese classes for foreigners instead of teaching myself this incredibly complex and interesting language. Overall, I have had a wonderful time in Rongchang and am fortunate to have experienced a last glimpse of traditional China before the rest of the country transforms it image over night.
This semester my teaching responsibilities have lowered to teaching only four classes a week which has afforded me the ability to really spend time getting to know my students outside of the classroom. Twice my students and I have gone out to dinner together. One time they even came to my house to treat me to a delicious dumpling feast. On the whole, I feel that I have done a much better job at becoming patient with my students and enjoying my time together with them this semester. I tried to rush my teaching material too much my first two semesters in Rongchang and I think that was a mistake. Only now do I realize that I can also make gains with my students outside of the classroom. Even with this more holistic approach to teaching my students still rarely show their fun personalities in the classroom. I feel that this breakthrough would be even more phenomenal based on the cultural restraints which bind students in China. Even so, I will push myself to continue to work on improving my student’s ability to express their thoughts and make plans.
My Chinese friend told me something interesting the other day regarding their hypothesis on why Chinese students have such a difficult time learning how to make plans in the future of their lives. From birth to college Chinese students are told by parents and teachers that they must study extremely hard in order to pass the daunting “Gao Kao” or Chinese college entrance exam. This behemoth of an exam consists of five elements: Chinese, English, Math, Science, and Party (Communist philosophy). With only around fifty percent of high school students being able to pass this gauntlet it is no wonder why Chinese students push themselves hard in school. The great competition aside would put fear into the hearts of most students and give you really no opportunity for free time. Besides the daunting exam, Chinese cultural norms constrain students to maintain proper relationships with both family and teachers placing the student in a distinctly subservient manner in both relationships.
If the student is lucky enough to pass this gauntlet of an exam they will be able to go to college but not necessarily the college they want. In China, students are placed in universities based off of their test scores. Some students who are lucky can chose between a couple schools if their “Gao Kao” score and “guanxi” or “relationships” are strong enough. In reality, most students do not have the ability to choose where they will go to college. Once the student enters college they are placed in a major that correlates best with their highest scoring level on the “Gao Kao” exam. Some of the lucky students can choose between a major but their choices are not easy. Studying the liberal arts in college is looked down as being a substandard major in China; therefore, most students chose a major in math or science even if they preferred studying liberal arts. After I thought about their childhood through college experience and compared it to that of mine it because obvious that they really never thinking freely. Nowhere along the line of their lives to the point of graduation from college have Chinese students really made any choices on their own. Their parents, teachers, and system all tell them exactly what they must do in order to succeed in China; whereas, my parents, teachers, and culture all push us to think on our own. It is no wonder that they have trouble deciding things in their lives when you look at their lack of personal decision in their lives until getting a job (which can in some cases be chosen for them by family connections as well).
Another interesting phenomenon which has come up from time to time in conversation between Cory and I is, “Why do Chinese girls always go to the bar with guys even if they are not their boyfriend?”. At first, we came up with a bunch of pretty funny and sometimes what we thought illuminating hypotheses. Luckily, Cory had a conversation with a Chinese acquaintance the other day which shed some new light on the old topic. Cory’s friend told him that Chinese girls are afraid to go alone or even in a group of girls to the bar because if they are treated poorly no one will step up to help them. She explained this problem to Cory a good example. First, if a person sees a girl being mistreated by another guy in China and they step in to break up the matter they will find themselves in a world of hurt. Even if instigator knows he was in the wrong they will still unleash all of their guanxi against the Good Samaritan’s reputation. This can mean telling people not to hire this person, creating libel, or even suing this person for damages caused by breaking up the fight. Therefore, most people in China will not act out in order to help someone even if they know it is the right thing to do.
This cultural reality in China has resounding effects on how people act in everyday life. It makes it exceedingly rare to find a person who will help people even if they see someone in extreme danger. Ali, told me the other day that a Peace Corps volunteer was sued for helping a lady get back on her bike after she was hit by a car. Since most people do not have life insurance in China the major form of recompense is on the spot bribery. Bribery is another problem in China which reaches all levels of government and society. I do realize that as a foreigner it is not in my place to put judgment on China. I am all too aware of problems within the United States which are extremely problematic and resounding within our own culture and society. I am simply trying my best to make interesting inferences on things that I believe are interesting in my own life and would also be for people back home.
As my birthday approaches, Cory and I have decided on doing a nice vacation to Chengdu. In Chengdu, we are hoping to meet up with a couple of our friends, enjoy a different city, do some partying, and visit Mt. Emei and Leshan which are both in Sichuan province. Thinking ahead is something that I do not like to do much, but both Cory and I are really excited to be doing a little traveling. I will also be going to Tianjin during that week which will make Chengdu trip a little tighter. Nonetheless, we are both happy to be traveling to Chengdu during a lull in the season which has allowed us to take advantage of some nice deals and low rates.
I know that this is a shorter blog than usually but I have nothing left to comment on besides that my parent’s birthday package arrived early with a new kindle. The new kindle has become a great tool for studying Chinese away from my apartment and along with reading. I am currently back reading the George Washington biography and really enjoying it. I hope all is well in with everyone back in the United States.
Best,
E.K.
